Dominic Calvert-Lewin has credited the role that Sean Dyche has played in his return to fitness that now has him confidently leading the line for Everton again after two years battling a succession of injuries.
Since making his return from a fractured cheekbone when he came off the bench against Arsenal a month ago, Calvert-Lewin has featured in each of the Blues’ last five games and has already surpassed his goals tally in all competitions from last season with three.
While over the past couple of seasons he would return to the team and then be forced back onto the sidelines by niggling soft-tissue injuries, the striker now looks fitter and sharper than he has in a long while.
Much of that has been down to the patience shown by Dyche, who came into the club in late January and quickly realised that he, the player and the medical staff needed to get to the bottom of his persistence injury problems.
“The stress I was putting myself through to try to play, only to be at 60 per cent, it wasn’t worth it,” Calvert-Lewin told evertonfc about his attempts to push himself to get back to action. “The new manager came in and put a stop to it and made sure I was able to be patient to get back fully fit.
“The manager has played a massive role. I think I’ve been victim of my own eagerness in trying to rush back and also the expectation from others, at times, in wanting me to be fit because of what I can bring to the table. I think it turned into a bit of a vicious cycle. Now, since the manager came in, he’s been big on me trusting my body again and feeling good in my body.
“It’s not about just ticking off the boxes in terms of being fit to play, it’s more about how I feel in myself.
“It took a lot of guts from the manager to bat off questions about me every week. He put it to bed by saying I’d be back when I was ready and that gave me confidence and a bit of relief, really.
“It took the pressure of myself and removed that feeling of having to rush back. I like to think it’s paid off so far. The condition that people see me in now — that’s from the manager allowing me to get there.”